Love Over the Years
by Tibarn'Worshipper
Summary: When Innes first meets Eirika, he sees her as only his rival's sister. But as the years go by and the Frelian prince starts to fall in love with the beautiful princess, will he be able to admit his true feelings for her? Innes/Eirika


Disclaimer: I'm too lazy to do a disclaimer. Shoot me!

Nintendo: *pulls out gun*

Me: 0_o On second thought… I own nothing. Fire Emblem and all its characters belong to their respective owners!

If you don't like Innes/Eirika, then don't read! Flamers will be punished!

Enjoy the story!!

It definitely was not love at first sight.

The first time I ever saw Eirika was at my younger sister's birthday party. We were introduced and exchanged names, but I was far more interested in one – upping her twin brother to really pay that much attention to her. She left the Frelian palace, and to be honest, I rarely thought of her over the next few years.

Then as we got older and more mature, it happened. My rival's sister befriended my own sister. That began the visits. It would start as nothing really; Eirika would be invited to stay a few days at the Frelian castle. Days turned into weeks. I didn't mind; she mostly hung out with Tana. We talked some. For the first week, a simple nod would suffice as we passed each other in the hallway. By the middle of the third week we actually exchanged a few words. The fifth week resulted in entire conversations together, sometimes at great length. No, I did not love her then. I saw her as a friend. The fact that she was my rival's sister hindered our relationship at first, but I soon let go of that childish prejudice.

The day she left was… odd. The second I woke up, a cloud of depression settled over me. It lasted all day and worsened as I watched her ride off back home. My father was no help at all. Not even five minutes after Eirika and her escort had disappeared over the horizon he turned to me, placed a hand on my shoulder, sighed, and said, "Don't worry, son. You don't need to break your heart over her. She'll come back."

Where the heck did that come from?!?! "Don't break your heart over her."?! What was that supposed to mean?! Did he honestly think I would be in a romantic relationship with her? Sure, I hadn't let my intense dislike of Ephraim tarnish our friendship, but there was no way I could DATE his SISTER! He would kill me! And there's no telling what their father would do. He'd probably whip out the sacred weapons and beat me to a pulp.

So, being the stubborn person that I am, I refused to even think of Renais' princess; I would prove my father wrong.

It was harder than I thought.

I wasn't constantly thinking of her, but at times I would catch myself wondering what she was doing.

Years passed. Eirika continued visiting Tana, but I made sure I didn't spend too much time with her, despite the hints that Tana and my father dropped.

A lot of people think that Tana gets her "match maker" genes from my mother. They're dead wrong. She gets them from our father. And then they get the idea that I like a certain blue haired princess. All hell breaks lose. Suddenly my dad is giving me advice on girls and encouraging me to be more friendly. Tana invited me on walks with her and Eirika and then, when we started walking in the most beautiful parts of the palace gardens, ran away! Not exactly the most comfortable setting. Dinners with candles, four people dances (in which my father would weasel his way into only dancing with Tana the entire time), and picnics; they went out of their way to try and get us together.

When I turned nineteen, the visits became less frequent. Tana was disappointed, but I understood. Eirika was becoming a woman; she had to get ready for the day she would rule her country… as did I. It was time for me to start seriously considering the day I would become king. Tana, on the other hand, was thinking of my love life. Not a day would go by without her mentioning my less than cordial relationship with women. "After all," she said, "Kings do need queens to provide them heirs." I ignored her for the most part.

Time passed. I became engrossed in my studies. I still thought about Eirika at times, but no more than any other friend would.

When the news of Renais' downfall reached Frelia, I was concerned. The thought of Eirika on her knees, in front of the Grado emperor caused my heart to be wildly with fear. Ephraim… not so much. I was… distressed to say in the least. Any feelings that I might have had for Eirika started to bubble to the surface. She was one of the closest and only female friends I had. I couldn't not feel something! I waited anxiously to hear news – any news – of her. My father sent me to the battlefield to prevent troops from Grado from invading Frelia. I knew that any reports on Renais would be taken directly to the palace. Hopefully my father would send my reports.

And he did. I nearly tore the envelope out of the messenger's hands when it finally arrived. I had to calm down before the words on the page made any sense.

Eirika was alive… and well! She was at the Frelian palace, protected by my father. This news helped settle my sporadically beating heart. She was safe now.

Another report soon followed the first. I read this one as eagerly as it predecessor, hoping for news on Eirika. Boy was there news. Eirika had left the safety of my palace and charged right back into enemy territory to find her brother.

Up to this point, I had only disliked Ephraim. Now I HATED the man. His existence was poisoning the mind of his sister! What was she thinking, pulling a stunt like that?! Didn't she know that anyone from Grado would kill her on sigh?!

Three weeks went by slowly, and I returned home to report to my father. Imagine my surprise as Eirika was the first person I saw upon my arrival! I was thrilled. She was safe again! She was in my fortress and better yet, I was here with her. The joy that ran through me was a little staggering. I tried to hide it behind my usual gruff demeanor. Of course, all my happiness imploded when I caught sight of Ephraim. It took all of my willpower not to nail him in the mouth right then and there. Fortunately, we were called into a war council before anything could start.

It was established that the remaining nations should be warned of the threat posed by Grado. I would go to Jehanna, Eirika to Rausten, and Ephraim to Grado where he would fight the emperor himself (idiot). At the very least, I would be within close distance from Eirika should anything happen to her. I wouldn't let a wound be inflicted on my Eirika.

………… Whoa. Wait... Did I seriously just say "my Eirika"? And since have I been this worried about her? Dear Lord, I must be sick or something. When did this care for her come about? It must be because of Grado. That's it. The strain must be getting to me. There is NO WAY that I could possibly like Eirika in _that_ way.

Or could I?

I became angry at myself (not an uncommon thing). What was I doing, day dreaming about some girl who I may or may not like? There were more important things at hand! I had to get to Jehanna. So once again, I pushed Eirika out of my mind.

When I was trapped at Carcino, I was sure that I was going to die. The mercenaries I had hired, Gerik and Tethys, stayed by my side even after I fired them. Good people. I hoped they would be honored ion the afterlife. Our fort was heavily damaged and our weapons were about to break. I glanced up at the sky that was visible through a large hole in the roof and prayed. I needed a miracle.

Suddenly, Gerik nudged me and pointed at the entrance of our fort. He had heard something. I listened for a moment and then heard it too. Footsteps. Someone was coming. I strung an arrow and Gerik brandished his sword. Tethys grabbed a brick, determination written across her face. I smiled on the inside. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to die with people like this by your side.

A figure appeared at the door. A second before I let my arrow loose, I recognized who it was. I tilted my elbow up, throwing my aim off, and my arrow struck the wood right above the person's left shoulder.

"Eirika?" I gasped.

Indeed it was her. She came up to me like a guardian angel and said, "Don't worry, Prince Innes, I brought reinforcements."

We won that battle and several others thanks to her. I had never seen her in battle before and what I saw now greatly impressed me. She never recoiled back from any foe, no matter their size. If a comrade was in danger, she would risk her life to save them. She looked out for the younger fighters in battle and helped carry the wounded off the field. I knew grown, experienced men that couldn't do even half of that. Eirika was truly an excellent woman.

We formed a sort of team. She would melee while I would range. We were a pretty devastating force if I do say so myself. We gained the respect of our fellow warriors, and could even take out large squadrons of enemies by ourselves.

Then one day while we were fighting, I happened to look over and saw an axe man about to slice Eirika in two. Eirika didn't notice him; she was locked in combat with a cavalier. I screamed her name, but my voice was lost in the cries and scream of soldiers on both sides. So I did the next thing that came naturally. I notched an arrow with a speed I had never had before and let it loose. It hit the axe man right between the yes, and he fell down dead. Eirika, who delivered the final blow to the cavalier, spun around. She saw the dead axe man on the ground with an arrow in his head and immediately looked at me. She smiled and nodded and then ran off to find more enemies.

I stood rooted in place, staring after her. I had just realized something. As that axe man had been about to bring down his axe on Eirika's head, an emotion that I had never felt before had run through me. And finally, after years and years of denial, I finally admitted that I loved Eirika.

There are no words to describe love. Thousands of poets have tried to capture the emotions, but in my opinion, they have all failed. I won't waste my time trying to describe how love felt to me. It would be impossible. If the entire sky had been paper, the seas filled with ink instead of water, and every blade of grass of quill, there still wouldn't be adequate room to describe love. All I knew was that I was deeply in love with Eirika. I wanted to be by her side during the high times and the low. I would put her on a pedestal and show her goodness off to the world. I wanted to hold her in my arms and whisper words of endearment in her ear. I wanted to grow old beside her; she would always be beautiful in my eyes.

Eventually, I told her how I felt. She was shocked, but then again, who wouldn't be? I wouldn't let her answer me though, I didn't feel worthy of her love. She was so wonderful, beautiful, smart, and caring and I was…. nothing. I told her that I would have to best her brother first. I would have to wait until the war was over before I could do that, but love was patient.

On the day I was supposed to best Ephraim, we ended in a tie. Not what I had planned. In shame, I prepared to return to Frelia and face a life without Eirika; I had promised to leave her alone of I lost, and a draw was just as bad as losing in my mind. But Eirika had run up to me, threw her arms around me, and told me that she loved me. She didn't care that I hadn't won the match; she just wanted me. And then she kissed me. Gods above, that was the best moment of my life. I could feel her love through that kiss. And so I kissed her back, not caring that her brother was staring at us in shock. He owed me at least this much, considering the fact that he was dating Tana.

Eirika and I were married five months later. It was not a quiet wedding; everyone who was invited (practically everyone in both of our countries and our friends from the war) cried. Dozla sobbed so loudly that he had to leave the room. When the priest announced us man and wife and I kissed Eirika for the second time, I realized something else. My sister had always believed in fairy tales. I had scoffed them, saying happy endings weren't true. But right here in front of me was a fairytale. And it was definitely happy. We kissed, solidifying our marriage, and the entire chapel burst into cheers.

And so, with laughter and love, we lived happily ever after.

**I absolutely loved writing this!!!! Should I write another one? What do you guys think? I'll even take requests if anyone wants me to write anything! Please review!!**

**Special thanks to Catherine and Kimberly for giving me the courage to post this! You guys rock!!**


End file.
